Georgia doing better than some peers, despite poor economy

Good news, bad news for state lawmakers

The bad news for Georgia is that rough economic times since 2001 have created overflowing prisons, double-digit college tuition hikes and the threat of closing some state parks.

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But the good news is that Georgia isn't doing nearly as badly as other similar-sized states.

Georgia lawmakers received the good news and bad news Tuesday during an in-depth briefing at the University of Georgia on how the Peach State measures up in critical areas against places like Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The briefing was part of the 22nd Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators, at a session specifically held for the newly elected crop of state lawmakers and hosted by UGA's Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

The economic downturn left many states cash poor in recent years as tax collections dried up, leaving less money to perform basic public services.

Still, Georgia has fared better than its peer states in many cases:

 While Georgia's prison system is at 100 percent capacity, the Illinois system is 36 percent beyond its original capacity limit. Massachusetts is 30 percent over and Missouri is 25 percent beyond its intended maximum.

 The average public teacher salary in Georgia is $42,679, higher than in Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

 Nearly one-third of Georgia's $16 billion state budget goes toward paying health-care costs, while the figure is closer to 40 percent in Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Still, Georgia lawmakers saw plenty of figures on Tuesday that showed room for improvement in their own state government.

Among similar-sized states, Georgia has the highest percentage of residents - 18 percent - living without health-care coverage. Georgia also leaves more of its mass-transit bills to be paid by local governments than any other peer states.

Such lingering problems left Georgia lawmakers with plenty to discuss after the conference.

House Minority Leader-elect DuBose Porter, D-Dublin, said much of the state's transportation woes could be eased if Georgia raised its gasoline tax, which is now the second-lowest in the nation at 12.6 cents per gallon.

Still, Porter said he doubted such a proposal would find any support in the Georgia General Assembly in the near future, where lawmakers in both parties often cringe at the idea of raising taxes.

"At some point, we're going to have to," he said. "As our state continues to grow, we're going to have to have the infrastructure for it."

State Sen. Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, said mass-transit funding and road development face a bright future in Georgia under multiple public-private partnerships being considered.

The proposals include toll roads, as well as local community transit projects paid for by nearby property owners.

"We have a lot of other innovative things to do other than raise taxes," said Williams, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.